Truth or Die

‘Thank you, Mrs Sager, we had best be going now,’ Imogen said. ‘Here’s my card, call us if you think of anything.’ Imogen put her card in the palm of Mrs Sager’s hand and closed both hands around it. ‘So sorry for your loss.’

‘Thank you, dear.’ She attempted to smile and stepped back into the house, closing the door behind her.

Adrian blew his cheeks out, obviously feeling the woman’s pain. ‘God, I can’t even imagine,’ he said.

‘Let’s get to the hospital,’ Imogen said, knowing full well that Adrian could imagine it – his son had come close to being killed in a previous case and it almost destroyed him.

They got back in the car and made their way across town to meet the DCI. Imogen couldn’t help looking at the scrapes on his knuckles and wondering if he was telling the truth about being mugged. It certainly wasn’t the first time he had shown up to work with unexplained cuts and bruises. She reminded herself he had no reason to lie. Did he?

Chapter Eight

Adrian couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Mrs Sager’s face. He remembered back to the time recently when he’d thought his own son was dead, and the visceral memory of the way he’d felt, even for the briefest of times, was enough to make him want to throw up. But to live in that state, to know that you would never see your child again – that would be too much for Adrian. He wasn’t sure he would even want to carry on.

The hospital was busy, and by the time they found DI Walsh, visiting hours had begun. DI Matt Walsh stood with his arms folded, staring ahead of him. Adrian couldn’t help but look at Imogen’s face as they approached him, to see if he could work out what she was thinking. She had seemed preoccupied with finding out more about the new DI and for some reason that annoyed Adrian. He couldn’t admit to himself that he was feeling jealous.

‘What’s going on?’ Imogen called out, getting the DI’s attention.

‘A girl has been brought in. She’s in and out of it a bit, but she’s been completely brutalised,’ DI Walsh said.

‘Sexual assault?’ Imogen asked.

‘It seems highly likely at this point; I’m just waiting for the doctor to come and give me a clearer picture of what happened.’

‘Do we know who she is?’ Adrian asked.

‘Barely. I mean, you wouldn’t know it from her face; she has a lot of swelling and several nasty abrasions.’ DI Walsh seemed to stop dead in his tracks, obviously noticing the state of Adrian’s own appearance. ‘What happened to you?’

‘I got mugged last night, nothing serious though, I’m fine.’

‘You don’t look fine. Are you OK?’

‘Yeah, seriously. I managed to swing a couple of punches, so he didn’t get anything. Really, it’s no big deal. I’ll file a report on it later on, I was planning on it anyway, but I don’t have much information at all.’ Adrian wanted to stop talking about it now. ‘Tell us about the girl.’

‘She managed to tell us her name, but her throat is pretty damaged; looks like he strangled her. My guess is whoever did this is going to be very disappointed when they realise she didn’t die. She was beaten so badly, there’s no way they intended her to walk away from that.’

‘You said she told you her name?’ Imogen said.

‘Caitlin Watts.’

‘What?’ Imogen shot Adrian a look again.

‘You know her?’

‘We had her on a B and E the other day; all turned out to be fine though,’ Adrian said, his voice catching a little as he spoke. What the hell was going on?

‘Did she say if she felt like she was in danger from anyone?’ Matt Walsh asked.

‘No, not at all. She was in yesterday and she was fine,’ Adrian said.

‘So, you saw her yesterday?’ DI Walsh pressed.

‘She knew the professor; she came in to give us more information on the Norris case,’ Imogen explained.

‘She was the witness who came forward? Do you think this attack could be linked to the murder? Did she give you any indication who she thought might have killed Doctor Norris?’ DI Walsh asked.

‘No, but she was the one who told us about the kid who committed suicide. Owen Sager,’ Imogen said.

‘I dropped her off at home at around six and she was fine,’ Adrian added.

‘You dropped her off at home?’ DI Walsh queried, and there was an element of derision in his voice that Adrian didn’t like.

‘She said she couldn’t get home. I was making sure she got back all right,’ Adrian said.

Dr Hadley appeared at that moment and Adrian was relieved to have the spotlight off him. He didn’t appreciate the way DI Walsh was speaking to him.

‘She’s awake and she’s stable; you can talk to her for a couple of minutes. The damage to her throat at this time means she can only talk in a whisper. She’s been through quite an ordeal.’

‘Was she raped?’ Imogen asked.

‘Yes, she has extensive damage to both her vaginal opening and her rectal lining. She also has some cracked ribs, a supraorbital fracture and more bruises than I can count,’ the doctor said, clearly very angry.

‘Jesus,’ Imogen muttered.

‘I have done a rape kit and sent it straight to the lab,’ Dr Hadley noted.

‘Can we go in now?’ Adrian asked. Caitlin was a sweet girl, if a little misguided, and the thought of this happening to her, of this happening to anyone, was stomach-turning.

‘Sure. But be considerate; please, she’s been through a lot.’

They walked into the room and could immediately feel the heaviness in the air. The nurses were working with a solemn concentration, not speaking but still somehow comforting with their presence.

The sight of Caitlin was something to behold: her face was swollen and bandaged, and she was barely recognisable. The one eye that was on display was full of tears as she stared out the window.

Imogen went over to the bedside and sat in Caitlin’s eyeline. Caitlin blinked a tear away as Imogen gently placed her hand on top of hers.

‘Hey, Caitlin, do you remember me?’ Imogen spoke softly.

Adrian felt like an intruder. Even though they were there to get a statement so that they could find the bastard who did this, he couldn’t help thinking they should leave the poor girl in peace.

‘Hello,’ she whispered and closed her eye.

‘I know this is difficult, but can you remember any details of the attack?’ Imogen asked.

‘Yes, I can,’ she whispered, her voice rough and crackling with pain.

‘I’m sorry, but would you be able to tell us what happened?’

Caitlin blinked slowly and wheezed in a deep breath before speaking.

‘He put his hand around my throat and told me he would kill me if I called out,’ she said, tears flowing freely from her one uncovered eye. ‘I thought I was going to die. He punched me in the side of the head and I just felt the pain in my eye exploding; it was so horrible. I was dizzy. He told me to get on the floor, but I said no, and that’s when he punched me in the stomach and made me take my pants off. He got on top of me and I tried to push him away, I even hit him, but he still wouldn’t stop. I tried to fight him …’ Caitlin’s whisper disappeared into a breathy cry as she got more and more distraught. She was fighting back the tears.

How could anyone do this to someone else? Adrian never could get his head around this kind of crime.

‘Just take your time,’ Imogen said.

Caitlin nodded gently before taking another deep breath.

‘After he was done, he made me do other stuff, too.’

‘How long was he there?’ DI Walsh said.

Imogen shot him an angry look, but he ignored her.

‘A couple of hours, I don’t know.’

‘Did you know your attacker? Could you tell us his name?’ DI Walsh said.

For the first time since they had entered the room, Caitlin turned towards the men who were standing at the door. She lifted her hand and pointed at Adrian. What was happening?

‘He did it.’ She burst into tears as she said it.

‘Excuse me?’ Imogen removed her hand from the girl’s immediately as though a bolt of electricity had just shot through her.

‘After Detective Miles drove me home last night, he raped me,’ Caitlin said.

‘What?’ Adrian finally managed to push a word out of his mouth; he wasn’t even sure what word it was. His head was thumping and his ears were ringing. This was up there with his worst nightmares. This couldn’t be real. Being accused of rape was one of those unshakable accusations. Once it had happened, everyone would always wonder. Once the seed was planted, there was nowhere to hide. It would be a rumour that would follow Adrian for the rest of his life. He wanted to throw up. ‘Caitlin!’

‘Could you wait outside the room please, Detective Miles?’ DI Walsh said calmly.

‘This is not true. Caitlin, why are you doing this?’ Adrian said – he knew he shouldn’t say anything, but the impulse was too strong.

‘Just for a moment, I’ll be right out,’ Matt pressed.

Adrian looked at Imogen for guidance. She nodded that it was best for him to leave. He walked out of the room and watched intently through the glass of the door as they spoke to Caitlin. Why would she do this?

It wasn’t long before Imogen and the DI came out of the room. Imogen kept staring at Adrian, willing him to look at her; he could see her out of the corner of his eye. He kept his eyes down though. If he didn’t focus on the floor, he would be sick.

‘We have to investigate this,’ DI Walsh said.

‘I swear I didn’t do this. I couldn’t!’ Adrian said, struggling to breathe.

‘That’s not for me to decide, I’m afraid. There has to be a proper investigation. Do you at least have an alibi for last night?’

‘Not really. I went to the pub, someone might have seen me there. What happens now?’

‘We go and tell Mira. She will have to contact the Professional Standards Division and they will send someone to come and figure out who is telling the truth here.’

‘You think I did this?’ The idea of having PSD looking into his conduct at work made Adrian uncomfortable. He had been investigated for evidence tampering before and even though he was eventually exonerated, the process was degrading. He could just imagine the talk that would be flying around the station. It didn’t even bear thinking about.

‘I don’t know you. I think at this point it doesn’t matter what I think.’

‘It matters to me,’ Adrian said, trying to ignore what he felt DI Walsh was inferring.

‘I think you will probably get assigned to desk duty for as long as it takes to clear your name,’ DI Walsh said unapologetically.

‘Imogen. You believe me, right? I didn’t do this.’ He could feel his voice getting higher as he got more agitated.

‘I know you didn’t,’ she said without hesitation, calming the swirling in his head for a second.

‘False rape claims are a lot rarer than people think they are,’ DI Walsh said. ‘There’s a lot of physical evidence that she’s been assaulted.’

‘I’m not saying she wasn’t raped, I’m saying it wasn’t me,’ Adrian said.

‘Well, the PSD will clear it up. Now, let’s get back to the station.’

‘Am I under arrest?’

‘That’s not my call. DCI Kapoor will make that decision. I think there will be at least some preliminary investigation before that happens. See what the rape kit turns up.’

All Adrian could think about was what had happened to Caitlin; it was horrific and brutal. Maybe the head injury she’d sustained had messed with her memory and she really did think he had done it. He had dropped her off, but then driven straight home before walking to the pub. Something was bothering him about the timing of all of this though. For him to coincidentally get mugged on the same day, covered in scrapes and bruises on the exact same night, what were the chances? Maybe the attack on him wasn’t a random mugging, after all. Maybe he was targeted. But why would someone target him? And what did Caitlin have to do with it? Adrian couldn’t help feeling paranoid at this point. After what he had been through in the past with Dominic Shaw, his son’s stepfather – a man who dedicated his life to messing Adrian’s up – he didn’t believe in coincidences and the fact that the attack on Caitlin happened the same night as his attack meant that someone had planned this. But why? What was the end game?

DI Walsh walked in front as they exited the hospital and Imogen dropped back a little until she was by Adrian’s side.

‘What are you thinking?’ she said to Adrian in a whisper, clearly not wanting to draw DI Walsh into the conversation.

‘I swear I didn’t do this.’ Adrian felt compelled to say it over and over again.

‘I know you didn’t,’ she reassured him.

‘I was telling the truth about last night, too. I got jumped. What if that and this are connected?’

‘That seems a little far-fetched.’

‘After everything we’ve seen over the last couple of years you think that’s far-fetched?’

‘OK, say it is connected. What is it about? Hugh Norris? Owen Sager? Is it because of what she told us at the station yesterday? And why would they target you?’

‘Your guess is as good as mine. Do you think she’s lying, or do you think she’s just remembering it wrong?’

‘I don’t feel confident to say; it’s possible she’s got confused, that it was a nasty attack. I say for now we give her the benefit of the doubt. I don’t like to think anyone would falsely report a rape. The amount of damage it does is unbelievable. Not just to the accused but to the whole system. So, for now we work on the assumption that she’s confused. But that’s between you and me.’

‘Thank you,’ Adrian said.

‘What for?’

‘For not doubting me.’

‘I’d like to think I know you well enough to know you weren’t capable of something like that.’ She paused. ‘What was the name of the pub you went to last night?’

‘I went up to The Imperial.’

‘You went to the biggest pub in town?’

‘Someone might remember me,’ Adrian said.

‘Well, let’s hope so. Did you go into her house?’ Imogen said, looking away from him, obviously afraid of the answer.

‘Nope, absolutely not. I pulled up outside, she got out and then I drove away. I swear to God that’s what happened.’

They arrived back at the cars.

‘Adrian, I think you should come back with me,’ DI Walsh said.

Adrian didn’t know whether DI Walsh believed him or not, but he knew in his situation, he would be inclined to believe the victim. A thought that gave him no great comfort. Either way, this was a shitshow and Adrian was the main attraction.

Chapter Nine

Imogen stood with her arms folded, looking down at DCI Mira Kapoor, who was responding to an email from PSD, the department that were sending someone over to investigate Adrian. She had come in to speak to the DCI on her own, without DI Walsh breathing over her shoulder. She knew he wasn’t actively trying to piss anyone off, and that he was right to question what was going on, but he seemed to have made his mind up already. Admittedly, looking at Caitlin Watts in that hospital bed was enough to give anyone pause. It really wouldn’t make sense for her to make it up, why would she? Wouldn’t she want to see her attacker put away for what he had done to her? Meeting Caitlin before and forming a strong opinion about how manipulative she was was definitely clouding Imogen’s judgement. She knew there were plenty of people who would be happy to think of Adrian as someone who would do this. The truth was, of course, that even though there was no doubt in her mind that Adrian was innocent, there was still that voice in the back of her mind, demanding to be heard.

‘You can stop looking at me like that, DS Grey. This is procedure, there is nothing I can do. My hands are tied.’

‘He didn’t do this. No way,’ she urged.

‘I’m glad you have his back, and while I admire your loyalty, I don’t have that luxury.’

‘Can I help with the investigation?’

‘I think we both know the answer to that.’

‘I can’t just do nothing. This isn’t right,’ Imogen said.

‘Between us … you met the girl before. What did you think of her?’

‘Honestly? She was all over Adrian, disturbingly so. Flirting and desperate for his attention.’

‘And you don’t think he could have taken that the wrong way and maybe—’

‘No. Aside from the extreme violence towards her, which I am positive Adrian would have no part in, I just don’t think he’d be into it if the person wasn’t into it, too. If you know what I mean,’ Imogen said, unsure if she was making things better or worse, worrying she was digging Adrian into an even bigger hole.

‘Why do you say that about the violence? People can surprise you,’ DCI Kapoor said gently, as though she were trying to prepare Imogen for the worst.

‘On previous cases, Adrian has been quite affected by violence against women. His father was a violent man, apparently; hit both him and his mother frequently.’

‘I didn’t know that,’ DCI Kapoor said apologetically.

‘He doesn’t talk about it much, but I just can’t imagine him raising a hand to a woman. Let alone this,’ Imogen said. Adrian hadn’t talked about it much but on the few occasions where he had said something it was clear to her that it was something he felt very strongly about.

‘Have you and he ever—’

‘No,’ Imogen said before she had a chance to finish the sentence.

DCI Kapoor’s computer pinged and she clicked on something. She folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, exhaling and scrunching her face up. She was obviously trying to decide what to do.

‘PSD are sending over Detective Chief Constable Trevor Sneddon. If you would, please meet him and bring him to my office. He’ll be out front in about five minutes. I’ll see if he has a problem with you observing the in-house interviews. Observing being the key word. You won’t be able to sit in, but you can watch from the control room if he gives you the OK.’

‘Thank you,’ Imogen said, breathing out a small sigh of relief at not being shut out completely.

‘Any idea why Miss Watts might make this up?’

‘None whatsoever.’

‘OK, thank you, Imogen. Can you send Adrian in?’

Imogen left the DCI’s office and sat back down at her desk. Adrian was perched on his chair with his head in his hands – anxious was an understatement. She could see he was lost in his own thoughts.

‘The DCI wants to see you now.’

Adrian stood up and barrelled towards DCI Kapoor’s office. Imogen hoped he didn’t lose his temper. She couldn’t stay in here and try to guess what the DCI was saying to Adrian; she needed some air. It had been raining earlier, so she grabbed her coat and went outside to wait for the DCC to show up.

Just being outside made Imogen want a cigarette, but she hadn’t had one since about three days after New Year’s Eve. One more week and she would have gone two whole months without one.

A car she didn’t recognise pulled into the forecourt and a man she wasn’t familiar with got out. She wrapped her coat around her and walked towards him, the wind whipping her hair into an unruly mess.

‘DCC Sneddon?’ she called out.

‘Yes, how did you know?’ He was tall with sandy blond hair and a stern face, but she liked to imagine he didn’t look unreasonable.

‘You just look like PSD.’

‘I’ll pretend that’s a compliment.’ He held his hand out and she took it; he had a firm shake, confident, that of someone in a position of authority.

‘I’m DS Imogen Grey. The DCI has asked me to take you through to see her.’

‘Do you know the accused?’ he said sombrely.

‘I do. He’s my partner.’

‘I’m guessing you believe him.’

‘Correct.’

‘OK, let’s get this show on the road,’ he said in an apologetic voice.

This at least gave her hope that he wasn’t just out to nail someone. She hated her job sometimes.

Chapter Ten

Being on this side of the interview table was no fun. Adrian waited patiently for DCC Trevor Sneddon to start asking questions. They had already got the formalities out of the way: date, time, name, rank. Adrian could feel the beginnings of a migraine, or maybe he just really wanted a drink.

‘Could you tell me about the first meeting with Caitlin Watts?’ DCC Sneddon began.

‘She was brought in for breaking into a chapel. Her grandfather was a reverend, though, and so no charges were brought and we let her go,’ Adrian said.

‘Did she steal anything?’ Sneddon asked.

‘Apparently not.’

‘How did she seem at that time?’

‘I don’t know. Normal. She was quite friendly,’ Adrian said. Did that make him look bad?

‘And the next time you saw her?’

‘Yesterday morning. She said hello to us near the scene of the Norris murder. We went to speak to one of his colleagues, who turned out to be her lecturer. Psychology, um … her name was Gillian Mitchell. Miss Watts walked past and said hello.’

‘And you hadn’t arranged to meet Caitlin Watts there?’

‘Of course not. It was a murder that we were called out to. How would I know beforehand that it was going to happen?’ he said, trying not to get annoyed at the questions. He knew they had to ask them.

‘And then the next time?’

‘Yesterday again. She came in late afternoon and told us that she thought Hugh Norris was having an affair with a student. She also told us that one of his students committed suicide exactly three months ago. She brought in an article about the suicide and I put it on the desk.’

‘Then what happened?’

‘She told me she couldn’t get home and that she was a bit upset by the murder, so I offered to give her a lift.’

‘You offered? Why?’

‘Actually no, I offered to get someone else to drop her home, but she asked if I could do it. She said she was nervous because of the violent nature of the murder.’

‘And you said?’

‘I said, fine. I was leaving anyway.’

‘And what happened then?’

‘I drove her home, she got out and I drove home.’

‘You didn’t get out of the car and see her to her door?’

‘No, I didn’t. I didn’t even really watch her go inside. I just left. Then I parked up at home and walked to The Imperial.’

‘Were you alone?’

‘Yes. I was a bit pissed off because I was supposed to have my son stay over last night, but he made other plans.’

‘So, no one can corroborate your story?’

‘Sorry, no.’

‘OK. Let’s talk about you for a moment,’ Sneddon said with a heavy sigh, clearly not enjoying this any more than Adrian.

‘I thought that was what we were doing.’

‘Are you in a relationship?’ Sneddon asked.

‘Not that it’s any of your business, but no.’

‘I heard your last relationship ended rather traumatically. Is that correct?’

‘Do they ever end well?’ Adrian said, trying to make light of it.

‘Have you sought any counselling for what happened? It’s hard losing someone to an act of violence.’

‘I’m dealing with it just fine,’ Adrian lied.

‘Have you ever dated anyone in the station?’

‘I had a casual relationship with Duty Sergeant Denise Ferguson, but that ended a long time ago. I haven’t had a relationship at all since Lucy died.’

‘Anyone else?’

‘Why does this matter?’

‘Just answer the question.’

Adrian thought about Imogen for a moment. Should he mention it? It wasn’t a relationship, it wasn’t even sexual, but somehow it was important. Far too important to talk about here.

‘I went out with PC Tessa Burgess briefly and a couple other officers who have since transferred out.’

‘Does briefly mean a one-night stand?’

‘Yes. But there wasn’t any drink involved or anything. It was a consensual situation and it was before she worked in this division.’

‘We’ll speak to her, but for now, you can see yourself out.’